It's The Fear
by sofia313
Summary: "Tell me," Kai hummed and brushed his fingers softly over his foster sister's cheek. "Are you afraid of me?" "Yes," she replied. "Why?" "What do you think? Because you're empty, Malachai. You can't feel." His lips curved into a sinister smirk. "Are you sure about that?"
1. The hour of the ghosts

**This was just an idea; I've received few requests about Kai centric story. Not sure yet how long this will be.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **The hour of the ghosts**

Portland, Oregon, 1982

"It's alright, little one. It's alright… Can she hear me?"

"I'm sure she can, Mr. Parker. You should keep talking to her, hold her hand. I think she would feel safer knowing that someone is here with her."

"Yes… Thank you, nurse. Dawn? Dawn sweetheart? Please open your eyes."

Joshua Parker felt a sting in his heart when he looked at his 6-years-old goddaughter lying on the hospital bed. Her small body was badly bruised and she had just lost her parents. Eric Weller, Dawn's father, had been a very powerful warlock and the respected member of the coven, even though he had married a non-witch. He had also been one of Joshua's closest friends; they had known each other since childhood.

"Dawn?"

Joshua waited until the nurse had left before casting a healing spell. Slowly Dawn opened her eyes.

"Mommy?" she murmured sleepily.

"No, sweetheart, it's me, Uncle Joshua."

The girl blinked her eyes few times, she looked disoriented.

"Where are mommy and daddy?"

Joshua sighed tiredly and touched her hair. He couldn't bring himself to tell the poor girl the ugly truth. She was just a little child for heaven's sake.

"They… They have gone to the better place."

The girl looked confused.

"But…Where? Why didn't they take me with them?"

"Because….because it's so far away, sweetheart. They wanted you to stay here; you'll be living with me from now on. It'll be fun; you'll have two sisters and three brothers. You remember my children, don't you? Jo, Malachai, Melissa, Joey and Patrick? You've played with them."

Dawn nodded after a moment of consideration, she was still confused. Joshua forced a calming smile on his face and touched the girl's cheek.

"Everything is going to be alright, little one. I'm going to take care of you. I promise."

* * *

3 years later

It was almost midnight when Dawn sneaked down the stairs. The whole Parker household was sleeping, or at least so she hoped. She only had a small flashlight with her; she didn't dare to turn on any lights. The cellar door… She swallowed, trying not to lose her courage. It wasn't too late to turn back and go back to bed… No, she needed to do this. It was almost midnight, the hour of the ghosts. Her heart was pounding like a drum when she opened the door. The other children didn't come here, they were afraid, although Joey would have never admitted it. Not to mention Uncle Joshua had strictly forbidden them to play in the cellar.

Melissa had said that the cellar was haunted; she had once seen a ghost. That hadn't scared Dawn, on the contrary. Ever since she had understood what death meant, she had wanted desperately to learn more about it. She wanted to make sure that her parents were alright. Her memories of them were fading, although she had pictures, but she remembered how much she had loved them. She never talked about them with anyone, she didn't want to.

Uncle Joshua was always kind to her, but he was away from home a lot and Aunt Teresa often seemed tired and absentminded. Jo helped her mother with the younger children a lot, although she was only 13. Melissa was 11, Joey almost 10 and Patrick 7. Unlike loud Joey, Patrick was a quiet and calm boy; Dawn enjoyed spending time with him. Then there was Malachai… Dawn couldn't explain it, but she usually felt nervous when he was near. He spent a lot of time in his room though; he didn't usually play with his siblings, even though Jo tried sometimes to talk him into it.

He had never paid much attention to Dawn and she was happy about it. Uncle Joshua always used a certain tone of voice when he talked to Malachai. He sounded cold and harsh. Jo was always ready to defend her twin brother and Joey idolized him. Dawn took a deep breath before stepping out into the dark staircase. She wanted nothing more than to turn back, but she couldn't. The old stairs squeaked under her steps, her hands were shaking violently when she tried to hold on to the flashlight. Finally she reached the cellar and waited.

"Hello?" she said with a shaky voice. "Mr. Ghost? I would like to speak to you, please. Are you here?"

She didn't get any reply, but she didn't give up.

"Hello? Is someone here?"

She let out a scream when the lights were suddenly turned on.

"What are you doing here?" Malachai's voice asked, he was standing on the stairhead.

"Nothing," she muttered after she managed to speak. He had scared her half to death. She didn't have time to say anything else when he marched down the stairs.

"Really?"

"Uh huh," she murmured a flush was rising in her cheeks. "I should go back to bed…"

"I don't think so," he huffed and blocked her way. "Answer my question. What were you doing?"

"Nothing," she repeated, she wasn't looking at him.

"Fine. I guess you don't mind me telling about this to everyone then…"

"No! I mean…" She knew she would be in trouble if Uncle Joshua would hear about this, he had told the children to stay away from the cellar.

"Yes?" Malachai asked smoothly.

She forced herself to look at him.

"Could you please not tell anyone about this?" she pleaded.

"That depends," he hummed. "What were you doing here?"

She swallowed and decided to tell him the truth. Hopefully he would understand.

"I… I was looking for a ghost."

He raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely curious.

"A ghost?"

She nodded.

"Melissa said that she has seen a ghost here and I thought… I was hoping to speak with my mom and dad."

He was quiet for a moment; the corners of his mouth were twitching.

"That's just…pathetic. They're dead, you can't speak with them."

Dawn flinched, like he would have slapped her. She tried to get past him, but he grabbed her arms.

"Let me go!" she shouted, her eyes were filling with tears.

"Hey, hey, calm down," he hummed. "Look, I'm sorry, that was mean."

There was curiosity in his eyes when he observed her face, a tear rolled down her cheek.

"You're sad," he stated. "Why? It has been three years already."

She stared at him; she couldn't understand how he could ask something like that.

"They were my mom and dad."

"Yes, but can you honestly even remember them anymore?"

"That doesn't matter," she muttered.

He kept observing her, like she would have been some riddle he tried to solve.

"That doesn't make any sense," he stated.

"You would be sad too if you would lose your mom and dad," she muttered.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before replying.

"No, I don't think that I would be."

She stared at him disbelievingly.

"How can you say that?"

He shrugged.

"I doubt that they would be sad if I would die, so why would their death make me sad?"

"But… They're your mom and dad…"

He snorted and waved his hand.

"I'm bored with this conversation. And I still haven't told you my price."

"What?"

He smirked.

"If you don't want my father to know that you broke his rules, you'll have to do something for me."

Dawn was confused and a little scared.

"What?"

He smiled and leaned towards her.

"It's very simple. Close your eyes and don't make a sound, no matter what happens. Do you understand?"

She was really scared now.

"Malachai, please…"

"Shh," he hushed her. "Do you want me to keep your secret or not?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Close your eyes," he said, his tone was almost warm. "I'm afraid this will hurt, but not too much. I'm confident that you can take this."

She was shaking, trying to plead him to let her go, but that only make him angry.

"I said close your eyes," he snapped and grabbed her chin.

Tears were coursing down her cheeks when she obeyed. The pain started almost immediately, but his hand covered her mouth before she could scream. She couldn't understand what was happening; it felt like her insides would have been ripped out. She was shaking and sobbing when he told her to open her eyes. He was staring at her very strangely.

"Your mother wasn't a witch, was she?" he stated.

She couldn't answer, her legs couldn't hold her and she would have collapsed if he wouldn't have caught her.

"Easy now," he stated and lifted her up. "Now listen to me very carefully. I'm going to take you to your room and you're going to go back to sleep. If you ever tell anyone about any of this, I swear, I'll make you wish you would have died with your parents. Do you understand?"

The fear and weakness had paralyzed her, but somehow she managed to nod. He smiled at her and gently touched her hair.

"Good girl, Dawnie. I think that I'm starting to like you."


	2. The thing

**Thank you for the reviews, favs and alerts. Answer to the guest reviewer, no, he didn't rape her; he took some of her magic. Kai doesn't have any magic of his own; he has the ability to absorb it from other witches. Dawn can't really use her magic yet, but she has it in her.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **The thing**

1 week later

Dawn was lying on her bed wide awake, once again she couldn't sleep. The thing that had happened with Malachai was still distressing her. The problem was that she wasn't sure anymore if anything had actually happened. Maybe it had all been some kind of weird dream. But if something had happened, what had that something been? She was so confused and she really needed to talk with someone, but what could she say when she couldn't understand the whole thing herself?

She didn't think that Jo would even believe her, how could Dawn tell her that her beloved twin brother had hurt her? Then there was Melissa, but Dawn really couldn't imagine confiding in her. She was usually nice, but she was also quite self-centered, she would probably be nothing but uncomfortable if Dawn would try to talk to her about this. Joey and Patrick were definitely out of the question. So was Aunt Teresa, Dawn didn't think that she would believe her either. Maybe Uncle Joshua would, but Dawn her barely seen him at all this week. Even if she could talk to him, what would she say?

She had tried her best to avoid Malachai, but he had been just as careless as ever towards her. Maybe she had really been dreaming. She sighed and closed her eyes; she really needed to get some sleep. Even though she was already 9, she still kept a stuffed animal next to her. It was a pink bunny called Strawberry; her father had given it to her. She wrapped her arms around the bunny and was just about to fall asleep when she heard something. Someone was opening the door to her room. Her eyes flew open and her heart started to beat faster. For a moment she wanted to pretend that she was asleep, but instead she turned on the light on her nightstand and saw Malachai.

"What…"

He put the index finger of his right hand to his lips, signaling her to stay quiet. The gesture was more than commanding, he wasn't asking. No more than two seconds later he was next to her bed.

"Hello, Dawnie," he whispered and gave her a smile.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered back.

"I think you know."

She pressed the bunny tightly against her chest.

"Please go away."

He shook his head.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen. I need more."

She couldn't understand what he was talking about, but she didn't want to feel the pain again.

"Leave me alone or I'll tell Uncle Joshua," she threatened.

His eyes darkened, she swallowed nervously when he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"What did you just say?" he asked warningly.

She tried her best to look confident.

"I'll tell Uncle Joshua."

He observed her for few seconds before his lips curved into a smile.

"Tell him what?"

She hesitated.

"I…that you hurt me."

"How did I hurt you?" he asked. "Did I hit you? Kicked you? Shoved you? Where are the injuries?"

She didn't know the answer to that. Unless…

"You..you used magic…"

His laugh interrupted her.

"That's a great theory, but there's just one tiny problem. I don't posses any magic. Ask anyone. So, how did I hurt you?"

She had no idea what to say, she was nothing but confused.

"I don't know," she muttered.

"Hmm, that's what I thought."

"You're in my room now," she pointed out.

"Yes, I came in because I heard you screaming in your sleep." He paused and smiled innocently. "I only wanted to make sure that you're alright. That makes me a terrible person, doesn't it?"

"What do you want?" she asked tensely.

"First of all I want you to understand that tattling won't do you any good, so I wouldn't even try that if I were you. This is my family's house and let's face it, you're nothing more than a stray cat my father decided to bring home. How do you think he and the rest of my family would react if you would start to spread lies about me?" He paused and leaned towards her. "I can tell you what would happen; you would be out of this house so fast that you wouldn't even know what hit you."

She swallowed and shook her head.

"Uncle Joshua wouldn't…"

"You want to bet? You really think anyone would believe your word over mine? I can make your life very difficult, so I would advice you not to make an enemy out of me."

Dawn was even more confused; she had no idea what to think. She couldn't understand why Malachai was doing this.

"What do you want?" she asked again.

He smiled.

"The same simple thing than last time. Close your eyes."

"No…"

"Don't make me ask again."

Tears were burning behind her eyes; she couldn't understand why this was happening. For a moment she thought about screaming, but she didn't even have time to finish her thought when he grabbed her throat, like he would have known what she was thinking. He looked at her coldly when she tried to desperately gasp for air.

"You know what to do," he stated carelessly and loosened his grip immediately when she forced herself to close her eyes. "Good girl."

His hand prevented her from screaming when the pain started again. Just like the last time, she was very weak when the pain stopped. He was looking down at her smiling.

"That was very good," he said warmly. "Next time don't fight me, there's no need to make things more unpleasant than they have to be."

She couldn't bring herself to make a sound, but her mind only understood two words. Next time. She couldn't move when he gently tucked her in and placed the bunny beside her.

"Sweet dreams, Dawnie."

* * *

6 months later

Malachai Parker had always hated the fact that he didn't have any magical power of his own. All he could do was absorb the powers of the other witches. He had done that ever since he had been a child, but no magic had ever felt as good as little Dawnie's. He really couldn't understand why, she wasn't even a full-blooded witch. No, she was in many ways weak, perhaps because she was still so young. He had used all his favorite tricks on her, intimidation, manipulation, subtle and less than subtle threats, whatever he had to do to keep her under control. Fortunately someone as young as her was quite easy to control.

At first she had clearly wanted to tell someone, but after he had taken her magic few times, she had understood her situation. He had made it clear to her that no one would believe her and she would no longer have a home. The strange part was that he has had no intention to take her magic the second time, but it had been all he had been able to think about. Obviously he still took magic from other people as well whenever he could, but only her magic made him feel… What? He didn't know, but it didn't really matter. The arrangement was perfect for him; she was his very own magic supply. He couldn't understand that he hadn't thought of something like this before.


	3. Happy birthday

**Chapter 3**

 **Happy birthday**

4 months later

"Happy birthday!"

Dawn's eyes flew open when the sudden loud sound woke her up, she was more than startled.

"Joey!" Jo's voice snapped. "I told you not to scare her."

Dawn's heart was pounding when she blinked few times before quickly getting into a sitting position. Jo, Melissa, Joey and Patrick were standing next to her bed, Jo had a piece of chocolate cake, Dawn's favorite.

"Happy birthday, Dawn," Jo said smiling and handed her the plate.

"Thank you," she replied.

"How it feels to be 10 already?"

She shrugged.

"Come downstairs when you're ready, I made you a special birthday breakfast."

"Thank you, Jo."

The others congratulated her as well and Joey ruffled her hair. She stared at the cake for a moment after everyone had left, she really didn't have much appetite. Malachai had come to her room last night, just like he had almost every week for the last 10 months. Had it really been that long? It was strange how a person got used to pretty much anything, even pain. At some point she had simply stopped caring. It really wasn't so bad, just a brief moment once a week.

Sometimes he didn't say much anything, sometimes he asked about her school or something. Sometimes he even brought her some little gifts, like a chocolate bar, bubble gum, new crayons or something like that, he knew that she liked to draw. She wasn't very good at it, but she still enjoyed it. He could be really nice when he wanted to, but he could also be very scary. The truth was that Dawn really wasn't sure what she felt towards him. She should have hated him, but in some strange way she had got used to his presence. He didn't usually pay much attention to his siblings, so a part of her felt kind of flattered when he paid so much attention to her. She had no idea if she should have felt like that or be ashamed of her feelings. It was all very confusing.

He was hurting her, but at the same time he made her feel special. All these things were very confusing to her, she was still a child. She managed to eat almost half of the cake before getting dressed and heading downstairs. Uncle Joshua wasn't home and Aunt Teresa was sitting in the living room with her teacup. She looked as absentminded as usual, but she congratulated Dawn. Jo had made a delicious pancake breakfast and everyone except Malachai was already sitting at the table.

Melissa was talking about some new jeans she wanted to have, all the girls in school had those jeans. Joey was teasing her, making her to snap at him and Jo told them both to stop bickering. Dawn was sure that she would become great mom someday. She understood that there was something wrong with Aunt Teresa, but she wasn't sure what that something was. One time she had heard Uncle Joshua saying to Aunt Teresa that she needed to pull herself together, for the children and the coven. She had responded to that by asking how many more times she was supposed to give birth. What if it would never happen? What "it" was, Dawn had no idea.

"Well, well," Jo huffed when Malachai walked in the dining room. "Look who's finally up."

"Hmm," he muttered and grabbed a pancake before heading to the kitchen.

"Hey," Jo said. "Are you forgetting something, brother?"

"What now?" he asked sounding bored.

"Come on," Jo huffed. "Dawn's birthday? I told you about it yesterday."

"Yeah," he stated carelessly. "I wasn't listening. Happy birthday, runt."

He wasn't even looking at her when he said that and it sounded that he couldn't have cared less.

"Thank you," she muttered.

"Never mind him," Jo said after Malachai had walked out. "You know how he is."

Yes, Dawn definitely knew. He always acted like that when they weren't alone. She had got used to it.

* * *

Few hours later

"Kai," Jo snapped tensely. "Please."

He rolled his eyes and took a bite out of his apple. He had just come home from school and he had no interest to go anywhere. Jo was making some hot soup for Patrick who had been sent home from school, he had a nasty flu. Their mother had gone somewhere without leaving a note and of course their father wasn't home.

"She's 10, I'm sure she can walk home by herself," Kai huffed.

"Please," Jo said again. "Mel and Joey are going to their friends' house after school, I don't want Dawn to walk home by herself. Please, just do this for me."

"You're a real mother hen, aren't you, sis?" Kai huffed. "Fine, I pick up the runt. But you owe me one."

Jo smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you."

Kai sighed and marched outside. The elementary school wasn't very far away, but Jo had always been overprotective. It was kind of funny that she seemed to care more about their siblings than their parents did. At least she looked after them more. Fortunately she didn't usually expect Kai to participate. He was very pleased with himself, things were going great with little Dawnie. Her magic really was like some kind of treat, but he was smart enough not to take too much and not too often. Even though their father wasn't around much, he might still notice something. There was no way he was going to let his father to ruin his fun. Slowly he approached the school and noticed a group of older boys. They had surrounded Dawn and were tossing her backpack in the air.

"Give it back!" she demanded.

"Say please," one of the boys laughed mockingly.

She looked at the boy and pressed her lips together.

"Please."

All the boys burst into laughter.

"Isn't she an obedient little girl? Get on your knees and beg."

"Give it back."

"Nope. Beg for it."

Kai's eyebrows furrowed, he wasn't pleased at all.

"Oh look," one of the boys said while opening the backpack. "I think this a diary. Let's see what the little baby wrote."

There was suddenly fear in Dawn's eyes.

"Give it back!" she shouted and furiously attacked the boy.

"Get off me you nutcase," the boy snapped and shoved Dawn on the ground. Kai's eyes darkened when she yelped in pain. Big mistake. He could have just beaten the little punks up with his bare hands, but since he still had some magic left, he had a better idea. He had been dying to try the spell he had recently learned. His lips curved into a smirk when he cast the spell. All the boys started to vomit uncontrollably. It was just like a scene from the Exorcist. Kai laughed, he had never seen anything so funny. Dawn on the other hand looked shocked; she was staring at the boys. Kai whistled while walking over to her.

"Hi there."

She didn't say anything when he helped her to her feet and went to get her backpack. Fortunately none of the boys had vomit on it.

"Let's go," he stated.

"But…"

"They'll be fine. Eventually."

Dawn was more than confused, but she followed him.

"Here," he said and handed her the backpack.

"Thank you," she muttered.

He smiled and touched her hair.

"Happy birthday, Dawnie."


	4. No

**I'm sorry, I had to publish this chapter again, I'm not sure what happened to it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 **No**

3 years later

Dawn closed her eyes and squished Melissa's hand when the plane started to land. This was the second time when either of them had been in an airplane and neither of them had particularly liked the experience. Still the last two weeks had been amazing; Dawn, Jo and Melissa had been in Miami. Uncle Joshua's sister Jocelyn lived there and she had insisted of taking the girls with her when she had visited her brother's family. Jocelyn didn't have any children and she had wanted to spend some time with her nieces.

She had called Dawn her niece as well. That had made Dawn very happy and she was more than grateful for all the new experiences. Jocelyn, or Auntie Josie, as she had wanted to be called, was few years younger than Uncle Joshua and very different than her brother, babbly and lighthearted. She was also a very talented witch and she owned a small herbal shop. All the girls, especially Melissa, liked her very much.

"Best summer vacation ever!" Melissa announced as soon as the plane had landed. "All my friends are going to be so jealous!"

Jo didn't really share her enthusiasm; she had felt guilty for leaving her father and brothers.

"I can only imagine what the house looks like," she murmured.

"Come on," Melissa snorted. "I'm sure they all survived two weeks without you." She paused and looked at Dawn. "At least you and I had good time, right?"

Dawn nodded.

"Yeah."

She had truly had good time, she had felt…What? Free? That was probably the best word she could think of to describe it. Two weeks without Malachai. She had been able to sleep peacefully when she didn't have to worry about him coming to her room. Still a part of her had sort of missed him, as twisted as that was. The whole thing between them was nothing but twisted. For almost four years he had kept taking her magic whenever he had felt like it and she had simply allowed that.

Obviously she understood now what he was doing and why and yet she had done nothing to stand up for herself. No, she had just let him use her. Not anymore. The last two weeks had somehow opened her eyes; she was going to tell him that she didn't want him to take her magic anymore. Still she couldn't deny that she felt sorry for Malachai. She had learned some things about him during the last four years. The most important thing was probably his ability to absorb magic, but she had also seen his bitterness towards everyone who possessed magic.

The Parker family had led the Gemini Coven for generations and when the oldest son didn't possess any magic of his own… It certainly wasn't easy for Malachai. He wasn't always that bad; he had helped her with her magic studies, talked with her and gave her gifts. He could be very nice and… No, she wasn't going to do this. It was time to tell him no. She was full of determination when she followed Jo and Melissa to the terminal.

"Jo!" Patrick cheered and ran towards her.

"Hey," Jo said warmly while wrapping her arms around her youngest brother. Joey had also come with Uncle Joshua to pick the girls up.

"I'm so glad you're here," Patrick said. "It was so horrible. Horrible, I tell you."

"What was?" Jo asked, she was immediately concerned.

Patrick pulled away and looked at her.

"Dad…He…he…tried to cook."

"Very funny," Uncle Joshua snorted when both Patrick and Joey burst into laughter. "My cooking wasn't that bad."

"Oh please, dad," Joey huffed. "Without takeaways we would have all starved to death."

Jo sighed and shook her head.

"Really, dad?"

Uncle Joshua cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject.

"How was your trip, girls?"

"It was amazing!" Melissa started eagerly. "Auntie Josie took us shopping and to a beauty salon, movies, restaurants, sightseeing…"

Dawn knew that she wouldn't be done anytime soon and it seemed that Uncle Joshua was starting to regret for ever asking the question.

"How's mom?" Dawn heard Jo whispering to her dad when Melissa was concentrated on explaining to her brothers how amazing city Miami was.

Uncle Joshua tensed immediately.

"She's…fine. Better. I think she'll be home soon."

Aunt Teresa had been in "a spa" for almost two months now after she had miscarried the second time. Jo had told Dawn about her mother's first miscarriage three years after Patrick had been born. Aunt Teresa hadn't been the same after that. Dawn didn't speak much on their way home; she was trying to prepare to face Malachai. For some reason she hadn't even considered asking for help. She wasn't really sure what was stopping her. Shame? Guilt? Fear? Some sort of twisted loyalty? Probably all of them.

She couldn't deny that she was afraid of him and she was afraid what would happen if she would tell someone that she had allowed this to continue for almost four years. Surely she could have made it stop if she would have really wanted to. Maybe she didn't really want it to stop… Of course she did. What she needed to do was focus. She would tell him no. No. No. No! She could do that. She had to.

* * *

Kai paced back and forth in front of the window, he was so tense that he had to clench his fists. What the hell was taking his father so long? Finally he heard a car. They were here. No, she was here. His little Dawnie and her freaking little magic. Two weeks… Two freaking weeks. At first he hadn't understood what the hell was wrong with him, but then he had realized what was missing. Her magic.

He wasn't addicted to it or anything, of course not. The whole thought was nothing but ridiculous. He simply wanted what belonged to him. Unfortunately he hadn't had time to find a way to stop her from going to Miami with his annoying aunt, but that didn't matter anymore. He looked outside and saw her; she had just stepped out of the car. Finally. He still had wait for couple of hours though. Hopefully she had enjoyed her trip because it would be the last one she would ever take. She wasn't going anywhere ever again.


	5. Crocodile tears

**Chapter 5**

 **Crocodile tears**

Dawn felt more than nervous when she waited for Malachai. He had come downstairs and carelessly greeted her and his sisters after they had come home. Jo had brought all her brothers souvenirs; some action figure for Patrick, a Nintendo game for Joey and a t-shirt for Malachai. Melissa had mostly bought souvenirs for her friends, she had many of them. Dawn had couple of girls she sometimes spent time with in school, but they weren't really her friends. She was a quiet girl, she always had been. At least she thought so. Or maybe she had become quiet because of the secret she had kept for almost four years.

She had used to write all her thoughts and fears in her diary, but she had burned it after the boys in schoolyard had tried to take it from her three years ago. She was afraid to even imagine what would have happened if anyone would have read it. Malachai would have killed her. Nervously she tried to sketch; it was still her favorite hobby. After a moment she gave up and closed her sketchpad, she couldn't concentrate. Reading didn't work out any better, she sighed and placed her book on the nightstand next to the alligator keychain she had bought for Malachai, she hadn't had a chance to give it to him earlier.

Why had she bought him anything, she really wasn't sure. It had just felt like a nice thing to do, she had bought small souvenirs for the others as well. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. For once she actually hoped that he would come already. She was sitting on her bed wearing a new rose print nightie; Auntie Josie had bought it for her. Finally she heard the door to her room opening. She could do this. He seemed a little surprised when he saw that she was still awake.

"Hello, Dawnie," he said smiling. "Waiting for me?"

"Yeah," she muttered and forced herself to look at him. He walked over to the bed and sat down, just like he always did.

"I've been looking forward to this…"

"Wait," she said quickly and picked up the keychain. "I… I bought this for you from Miami."

He raised an eyebrow when she handed him the little alligator.

"You bought this for me?"

"Yeah, I… I hope you like it."

He observed the keychain for a brief moment before his lips curved into a smile.

"Well, aren't you sweet. Thank you, Dawnie." He paused and touched her hair. "Did you miss me?"

"Sure," she responded, trying to sound as calm as she could. "But there's something I need to tell you."

"It will have to wait," he stated, he was clearly inpatient. "Lie down."

"No."

She couldn't believe that she had just said that and it seemed that neither could he.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I think I misheard you."

She swallowed, but she was determined to stay strong.

"Malachai… I had time to think about things when I was away and… I don't want you to take my magic anymore. I mean… I understand your situation, but I don't want this."

He was quiet for few seconds; his gaze was piercing when he stared at her.

"Is that so?" he stated.

"Yes. I'm not a little child anymore; I'm asking you to…"

She didn't have time to finish her sentence when he grabbed her by the throat and shoved her roughly on her back.

"Why would you think I would give a damn about what you want?" he snarled. His eyes darkened when he pressed his hand on her mouth. The pain was horrible, much worse than usually. He was deliberately causing her as much pain as he could. Her insides were burning up, he was taking too much of her magic. Tears were coursing down her cheeks when his hand muffled her desperate screams. He was going to kill her, she was sure of it. Then he suddenly stopped and stood up. She was in shock; all she could do was curl into a fetal position and sob. He was quiet for a long while; she was too weak to care what he was doing. Finally the bed squeaked under his weight. Gently he lifted her trembling body up and fitted her against his chest. She didn't even try to resist or tell him to go to hell. No, instead she leaned her head on his shoulder and allowed him to comfort her. What was wrong with her?

"There, there," he hummed and stroked her hair. "I'm sorry I lost my temper like that, but I need you to understand how deeply you hurt me. After all I've done for you, looked after you, this is how you want to thank me. It hurts, Dawnie, it really does."

"I'm sorry," she heard herself murmuring.

His hand rubbed her back in a calming gesture.

"It's alright, I forgive you. How could I not?"

Carefully he pulled away and cupped her face. He smiled while gently wiping her tears away with his thumb.

"My sweet little Dawnie… I missed you."

* * *

1 year later

Aunt Teresa was pregnant. She was expecting twins. Dawn had never seen her and Uncle Joshua so happy. They were kissing each other all the time and casting protection spells for the unborn babies together. Dawn had heard Uncle Joshua saying to Aunt Teresa that this was destiny; these babies were meant to be born. There was no chance this pregnancy would end like the previous ones. Uncle Joshua had even asked the whole coven to bless these babies.

Jo was more than happy for her parents, Melissa hadn't paid much attention to the whole thing, she was busy with her new boyfriend, Joey had let everyone know that he wasn't going to change any diapers and Patrick hadn't said much anything. Malachai on the other hand… Dawn really wasn't sure what he was thinking about the whole thing. She would probably find that out sooner or later, he did share his thoughts with her sometimes. He had also started to help her even more with her magic lessons.

Just like all the young witches and warlocks, Dawn was taught couple of times a week by the older members of the coven. She was 14 now, so she was learning to really explore her powers, but it was hard to study both magic and normal subjects in school. But then again, she didn't have much social life, so she had time to study. And study. And study. That was pretty much all she did these days. When she wasn't studying, she was running. It was a hobby she had started a year ago after Malachai had given her walkman.

He didn't usually give her so expensive gifts; he had said that it was an apology for the whole almost killing her thing. Right, sure. Like he would have really been sorry. She wasn't sure if he was even capable of feeling remorse. Sometimes when she read about some nasty spell, she was really thinking about using it against him. The most pathetic part was that she wouldn't have done that even if she could have. First of all it was forbidden to use magic like that, but most of all, hurting someone like that was simply against her nature, even if she sometimes felt that she hated that someone. Maybe that was the problem, she didn't always hate him. Sometimes she actually enjoyed his company. She really wasn't sure which one of them was more messed up.


	6. Low standards

**Chapter 6**

 **Low standards**

2 years later

"Check out the geek," Dawn heard Heather McGill giggling to her loyal "subjects", a group of bimbos who almost all the boys in school were drooling over. That only proved how stupid most males seemed to be.

"Pathetic," Heather continued, making sure that Dawn could hear her. "And look at those clothes. But it's no wonder when she lives in a foster home. I heard that her own parents didn't want her."

"Who could blame them?" Brittany Stevens, Heather's second in command continued eagerly. "She's a freak."

Dawn didn't pay any attention to the girl; she was concentrated on her book. The school library was usually a quiet place to study, but unfortunately not today. Finally the girls felt that they had "hurt her feelings" enough and moved on, they were all complaining about a teacher who actually expected them to read some boring old book and write an essay about it. Well, at least they could read. Maybe. It was kind of amusing that they thought their words would affect Dawn in any way. They didn't know anything about her and she couldn't have cared less about what they thought of her.

"Hey, beautiful," a male voice suddenly said.

Dawn smiled and looked up, she was glad to see Colin, her sort of boyfriend. He was in a football team and she had considered him as a jerk before he had come and talk to her two months ago. He had said that he has had a crush on her for a while and he had tried to find an opportunity to talk to her in private. He wasn't unpleasant to look at and he was an amazing kisser, but she didn't think that they were really dating. She didn't think that she wanted to date, but she did have needs, just like any girl who was becoming a woman.

Yet she didn't think that her raging hormones managed to replace her brain, she had simply discovered that she enjoyed being touched. Maybe that made her a slut, but she really didn't care. She didn't feel like other people did, there was some kind of wall around her and she didn't let anyone behind that wall. It was a shield she had built to protect herself. Colin was just what she needed; he was kind to her and had never acted threateningly towards her. Geez, her standards were low.

"Hey."

He bent down and gave her a kiss.

"Studying hard?"

She shrugged.

"Trying to."

He grinned.

"Not anymore. Come on."

She gathered her books and allowed him to lead her to their usual make out place, the janitor's closet. She did enjoy kissing him and feeling his hands caressing her body, but only through her clothes. He wanted more, she knew that, but he always stopped when she asked.

"Dawnie…" he groaned while fondling with her breasts through her shirt. "You're so gorgeous, babe."

She tensed immediately.

"I've told you not to call me that," she murmured.

"Huh?"

She pulled away and looked at him harshly.

"Don't call me Dawnie."

Only Malachai called her that and he was certainly the last person she wanted to think about when she was making out with her boyfriend. Sort of boyfriend.

"Sorry, babe," he said smiling. "Let me make it up to you."

She bit her bottom lip and tilted her head back when he started to suck her neck. His hand tried to once again lift the hem of her skirt, but she stopped him.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not ready."

He seemed annoyed for a second, but then he was smiling.

"That's okay, babe, I understand."

He offered to give her a ride home, he had a very nice car, but she didn't want that. The last thing she wanted was to explain to anyone, especially to Malachai who Colin was. Not that Malachai would have cared; he only cared about taking her magic. She felt good when she headed home after giving Colin a kiss. His smile dropped as soon as she was out of his sight.

"Bitch," he murmured and went back to the janitor's closet to pick up the video camera he had hid there earlier. Couple of his friends was already waiting for him.

"Well?" Aaron Long, the captain of the football team asked. "Did the little freak put out already?"

"Not yet," Colin huffed. "But I'm almost there."

The others laughed.

"You better hurry up or you'll lose our little bet."

"That's not going to happen," Colin responded. "I'll bang her before the prom, you'll see. Everyone will see." He paused and patted the video camera. "It's going to be the most entertaining prom night ever."

* * *

"Tough luck, bro," Joey said grinning. "It seems that I won again."

Kai's face was completely callous, but he was squishing the controller, wanting to throw the whole Nintendo against the wall. If there was something he hated, it was losing.

"Whatever," he stated carelessly and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Joey asked.

"I want a coke."

"Can you bring…"

"No."

Kai certainly wasn't in a good mood when he marched towards the kitchen. He became even more irritated when he ran into the twins; they were running across the hallway, laughing joyfully. They were such happy children, but why weren't they be, everyone loved them. Adored them. Their father had said that he couldn't be more proud. Both of the twins had strong magic. Kai hated them for it. Useless little brats. His father had never looked at him like he looked at Lucas. No, he was a disappointment, an abomination. Not that it mattered, his father could think whatever he wanted, Kai would still become the leader of the coven. They would all have to bow down to an abomination.

"Hey, slow down!" Jo demanded, she was running after the twins. "Lucas, Olivia!"

Kai rolled his eyes; it seemed that his sister would have to raise these brats just like the rest of their siblings. Their mother was as useless as ever, although she actually seemed to try her best to look after the twins. The amazing miracle twins. Whatever. He was approaching the kitchen when he heard Melissa's voice.

"Dawn, Dawn, Dawn… Is that a hickey?"

He froze when he heard his sister's words.

"What, no!" Dawn's voice responded.

"Oh please. Come on, spill, who's the guy?"

"No one."

"Uh huh. Is Mr. No one a good kisser?"

"Quit it, Melissa."

"Judging by your blush, I would say that he is."

Dawn was quiet for a moment before replying.

"Fine, I'm seeing someone, but don't tell anyone, okay?"

"My lips are sealed. Who's the lucky guy?"

"Just this boy from school. It's not that serious, we're just…"

"Giving each other hickeys?"

"Something like that. Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't, I promise. Good for you for having some fun, it's not healthy to study all the time."

"Says who?"

"Says me. Just let me know if you need any advice, I know all there is to know about guys."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

It took a moment before Kai was able to move. Dawn, _his_ Dawn, was seeing some worthless little scum. That scum had dared to touch her. Touched his Dawn. He felt rage he had never felt before. No one touched what belonged to him.


	7. My little light of dawn

**Chapter 7**

 **My little light of dawn**

Kai sat on his bed and stared at the alarm clock on his nightstand. Not yet. He needed to wait at least half an hour. Patience had never been one of his virtues, but he had managed to be patient and careful enough for years. The prize had always been worth all the effort. Fortunately the house was big enough, all the children had their own rooms, and Dawn's small room was apart from the other bedrooms, it had been their mother's "sewing room" before Dawn had moved into their house. Drinking room was more like it; Teresa had used to spend a lot of time there. Kai couldn't remember that his mother would have ever smiled at him or even said a nice word. No, what he remembered was the coldness in his mother's eyes; she had shoved him away or sometimes even slapped him when he had tried to come close to her.

" _Stay away from me,"_ she had snapped and burst into tears. " _I hate you. You ruined my life."_

He had been just a toddler, but he remembered. And he had been a fast learner; he had stayed away from his mother. She had never acted like that towards Jo or any of their siblings. Not that he cared. He still didn't know for sure what he had done to ruin his mother's life, he had certainly never asked, but his best guess was him not possessing any magic. Whatever, he could take anyone's magic if he wanted to. Still he couldn't deny that a part of him had always hated his siblings for having what he didn't have. The worst part was that they didn't even appreciate what they had.

Melissa was a dumb little bimbo who only cared about clothes, boys, hair and make-up; all she did was complain about her magic studies. So did Joey, he was much more interested in his games. He had used to look up to Kai, but nowadays he was more arrogant, just like their father who had always made it clear what kind of disappointment his oldest son was. Patrick had his comic books and his geeky little friends; he wasn't very interested in magic either. Jo was dreaming about starting a family of her own, although she was already more of a mother to their siblings than Teresa had ever been.

A normal life, that was what Jo wanted. Who the hell wanted that when they could have so much more? Still, if Kai cared about some of his siblings, it was Jo, although they argued quite often. When Kai had been a child, he remembered trying to understand feelings. He had observed and learned to mimic pretty much any feeling. That was the problem; he didn't feel like other people did. That however didn't mean that he wouldn't have felt anything at all. He did. Right now he was impatient and annoyed; he wanted to go to Dawn's room already. Dawn… His little Dawnie. His lips curved into a smile when he thought about her. He did feel something towards her.

She was his, the most honest relationship he have ever had, as strange as that was. He wasn't simply taking her magic; he sincerely believed that he had done a lot for her in return. At first he hadn't cared about anything but her magic and all the kindness he had shown her had been just one way to control her, but he couldn't deny that at some point he had also started to enjoy her company. He had never spoken so honestly to anyone else and despite of her being more or less scared of him, at least sometimes, she still stand up for herself in her own way. She didn't fight him when he wanted to take her magic, but she didn't completely yield either.

He liked to think that he had partly made her the strong girl she was and he was proud of that. Perhaps it was the same kind of pride parents felt towards their children. Well, at least some parents. Not that he actually considered her his child, more like very valuable property. She belonged to him. Not to some filthy teenage boy. Just the thought of someone touching her infuriated him. Sure he had noticed that she wasn't a little girl anymore, but to be honest, he had never thought that she would be interested in things like that. She was a bookworm for heaven's sake and he liked that about her. There was something pure and ethereal about her. At least so he had thought.

His anger was rising again, although he wasn't completely sure why he was feeling like this. He wanted to kill the little brat who had touched her. What was this, protectiveness? Maybe. He had taken care of some people who had messed with her. She didn't know about all those cases and he had no intention of telling her. Yes, he was the first one to admit that he was far from a decent person, but he didn't let anyone mess with her. Well, anyone except him. Speaking of which… It was finally the time; he doubted that anyone was awake anymore. Silently he headed to her room, just like so many times before. She was still awake, lying on her bed with few books and her pink bunny. She was wearing a cute little nightie and she looked tired when she met his gaze.

"Hi, Dawnie."

"Hey. I wasn't expecting you tonight."

He shrugged.

"I missed you."

She let out a snort and gathered her books on the nightstand.

"Listen, can I ask you a small favor?" she muttered.

He walked over to the bed and sat down.

"What favor?"

She sighed tiredly and looked at him.

"I have two exams tomorrow, could you maybe not take so much tonight?"

Her tone of voice was calm and businesslike; she wasn't going to argue if he would refuse her request. She seemed to be almost sure that he would say no and she was prepared to deal with that.

"I think that can be arranged," he replied.

For a brief moment she definitely looked surprised.

"Thank you."

He smiled and touched her cheek, just like so many times before. She didn't react to his touch, she never did.

"You're welcome."

Apparently she assumed that he was in a good mood tonight. Calmly she lied down on her back and made herself comfortable.

"Good night, Malachai," she murmured sleepily, she knew that she would fall asleep afterwards when she was already so tired.

He leaned towards her and observed her calm face for a brief moment.

"Sweet dreams, Dawnie."

She startled when he kissed her forehead, her eyes flew open.

"What are you doing?" she asked cautiously.

He raised an eyebrow.

"What? It was just a little goodnight kiss."

"Right… Okay then. Good night."

She closed her eyes again and sighed. For a moment he couldn't do anything but stare at her. She was most definitely not a little girl anymore. Her skin looked soft and warm, her lips moist and full, her dark brown hair was spread out across the pillow and her perky breasts were rising and falling as she breathed. She was…beautiful. Had he been blind for not notice that?

"Malachai?" she murmured after a moment of silence. "I would like to go to sleep; I have to get up early tomorrow."

Fortunately that snapped him out of it.

"What? Yeah, sure."

She didn't tense at all when he took a hold of her arms, she had got used to this. It wasn't possible to take magic without causing any pain, but he had learned how to minimize the pain he caused her. For some reason he had actually bothered to learn something like that. For his Dawn, not for anyone else. She flinched a little, but she didn't make a sound. No more than three seconds later she was asleep.

"Dawn?" he whispered and touched her cheek, wanting to make sure that she wouldn't wake up. Her breathing was very calm; she was definitely in a deep sleep. He felt her magic in him; it was just as intoxicating as ever. Slowly he leaned closer, wanting desperately to taste her lips… What? He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to touch her. The realization was strange. He had only planned to go through her stuff and find out who this "boyfriend" of hers was in order to get rid of him. Because he didn't share, no one touched what was his. How was it possible that he hadn't realized his own attraction towards her?


	8. Smooth operator

**I'm sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter, thank you for the reviews, favs and alerts :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

 **Smooth operator**

2 days later

Dawn really loved Saturday mornings. She didn't go out Friday night, so she usually got up quite early and went running. It was the perfect way to clear her head after the exhausting school week. There was nothing better than enjoying the first rays of the morning sun while running as fast as she could and listening to her favorite mix tape. Aerosmith, Depeche Mode, Madonna, Roxette, Bon Jovi and so on. She went running few times a week, but Saturday was the day when she had time to really enjoy it. There was nothing but her and her music, right now Madonna's Like a Prayer. The rest of the world had disappeared.

She ran across the park and headed to the familiar jogging path. There were few other joggers and people walking their dogs, but Dawn barely noticed them, she was completely lost in the music. Her heart was pounding like a drum, her pulse was rising and she was panting, but she loved every second. Running made her feel euphoric. She was free like a bird. Yet she couldn't relax completely. Colin was taking her out tonight and she couldn't deny that she was a little nervous. They had never been on a real date and she still wasn't sure how he had managed to talk her into it.

She wasn't planning to tell anyone about Colin, she would say that she was going to the movies with a friend. Not that anyone would probably ask. Maybe Jo, if she wasn't too busy with the twins. Uncle Joshua was out of town this week and Aunt Teresa most likely wouldn't even notice Dawn's absence. It really was strange how all the children in the Parker household had managed to stay more or less out of trouble despite of the lack of adult supervision. Uncle Joshua and Aunt Teresa had too often relied on Jo to handle the parenting duties. Sure she had done an amazing job, but Dawn really felt bad for her for having to carry so heavy burden, she was only 20-years-old.

Dawn did try to help her when she could and fortunately Uncle Joshua had hired a housekeeper who came by three times a week. Melissa had just turned 18, so she wasn't home much and Joey and Patrick weren't very helpful with the household chores, not to mention taking care of the twins. Neither was Malachai, but that certainly wasn't a bad thing. Dawn had seen few times how he looked at the twins and she hadn't liked that look at all. She knew that he was resentful because they possessed magic and Uncle Joshua adored them.

On some level Dawn could actually understand Malachai and she didn't want to believe that he would be capable of harming innocent children. But then again, she had been a child too when he had started to take her magic. Well, she wasn't a child anymore and she was going to make sure that he would leave the twins alone. Better him taking her magic than theirs, she had got used to it, as messed up as that was. She sighed and concentrated on the music, Bon Jovi's You Give Love A Bad Name.

 _You're a loaded gun, there's nowhere to run, no-one can save me, the damage is done…_

"Dawn! Dawn!"

She stopped and turned around when she heard someone calling her name. Her eyes widened when she saw Malachai running towards her. He seemed to be out of breath, he was panting when he reached her. Slowly she removed her headphones and stared at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Have something happened?"

It took a moment before he managed to reply, he needed to catch his breath.

"No, why do you ask?"

She observed him cautiously; her first thought was that he was here to take her magic. He had never done that out in public or in daytime, only in her room after dark. Tensely she took a quick look around, there were two joggers approaching them. If he thought that he could drag her into the bushes with him or something… No, she wasn't going to agree to that. He had no right to ask that, he should have taken care of this last night. This was her private time; he had no right to take it from her. How was she supposed to get home if he would take her magic here?

"What are you doing here?" she asked rigidly.

He grinned.

"What does it look like, I'm jogging."

She stared at him disbelievingly, was he joking?

"Since when?"

He shrugged.

"I've jogged for a while, it relaxes me."

"Right… "

She still suspected that this was some kind of joke; he had never mentioned that he would jog.

"Okay then, enjoy your jog. I guess I'll see you later …"

"How about I join you," he cut in.

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Why not? It's boring to run alone."

"I don't think so, I like running by myself."

He frowned.

"Well I don't."

She gritted her teeth, why did he want to ruin her private time. What did he want now?

"Fine," she huffed; she was in no mood to argue with him. He could run with her if he wanted to, it made no difference to her, she would listen to her music. "Let's go then."

She put her headphones back on and ran without looking back. She was very annoyed; it made her run even faster. Funny, that was how she had started running three years ago, pretending that she was running away from him. She had become quite fast and she couldn't help but to feel satisfied when she noticed that he couldn't keep up with her. After a while she stopped and started to stretch her legs. There was no sight of him. She smiled and hummed Aerosmith's Dream On; it was one of her favorites. She had to wait for a moment before he finally caught up, he was panting heavily.

"Are you okay?" she asked innocently.

"Yeah, sure. That was…fun."

She bit her bottom lip.

"Yeah, it was. How long have you jogged?"

"Not very long."

He smiled and stepped closer to her.

"Maybe you could give me some tips? We could run together."

She observed him for a moment before replying.

"What do you want, Malachai?"

He frowned.

"What?"

She crossed her arms and sighed.

"I don't want to play any games, could you just tell me what you want."

"Why do you think I want anything?"

"Because you always do," she snorted. "I know you."

His eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, Dawnie, maybe you don't know me as well as you think."

"If you say so," she muttered, wondering what kind of game he was playing. He was certainly acting strangely. She couldn't help but startle when he was suddenly standing in front of her.

"Tell me," he hummed and brushed his fingers softly over her cheek. She was too stunned to react, what was he doing? "Are you afraid of me?"

"Yes," she replied cautiously, suspecting that was the answer he wanted to hear. She had no idea what was going on, but he was making her very nervous.

"Why?" he asked.

Was he serious?

"What do you think?" she snorted. "Because you're empty, Malachai. You can't feel."

His lips curved into a sinister smirk, he leaned towards her.

"Are you sure about that? Maybe I can feel something towards some special person. And maybe I don't want that person to be afraid of me."

"Right, sure," she huffed and took a step back. "Could you stop, this whole creepy act really isn't funny. Seriously, what do you want?"

For a brief moment she saw something strange in his eyes, but it was gone in a fraction of a second.

"What do I want?" he stated coldly. "I want that back."

He was pointing at her walkman.

"What? You gave this to me…"

"And now I want it back."

She pressed her lips together and glared at him, he was the same asshole than always.

"Fine," she snapped and angrily shoved the walkman to him. "Keep the tape too."

She ran away before he could reply, she was so angry that she was running faster than ever before. Bastard… He had probably noticed that there was actually something she enjoyed, so of course he couldn't let her have that. No, her life had to be freaking miserable. Well screw him. At least she still had Colin. She was going to have good time with him tonight and there was nothing Malachai could do to stop that.


	9. Creepy act

**Chapter 9**

 **Creepy act**

What the hell? Seriously, what the hell? That was all Kai could think about what he watched Dawn running away. What had just happened? He stared at the walkman in his hand and rolled his eyes. Very smooth. Damn it. Why the hell had he taken this from her, she obviously loved listening to the music while she ran. Well, she had provoked him. Creepy act? He had tried to be nice, damn it! Alright, maybe he wasn't very good at being nice, but at least he had tried. What a damn disaster. It didn't matter, he could fix this. And why would he bother to do that, what did he care if she was mad at him, he could still take what he wanted from her. Not everything he wanted….

He let out a frustrated snort and squished the damn walkman. He most definitely wanted more than her magic. He still wasn't sure how that had happened, somehow he was seeing things clearly now. She was gorgeous. His Dawnie. His special girl. The only person whose company he actually enjoyed. The most honest relationship he has ever had. Granted, maybe their relationship hadn't always been…what, normal? Healthy? He had looked after her, no one could deny that. She meant something to him and he didn't usually care about anyone. He hadn't even been sure if he was capable of caring about anyone, but he cared about her.

Showing interest towards the things she enjoyed had seemed like a good idea, but he hadn't really thought it through. Of course he hadn't, he sucked at this. He wasn't a nice guy, he never had been. The girls he had dated in school had been attracted to his appearance, obviously, and he could be charming when he wanted to, but it had always been an act. Eventually he had got bored of acting something he wasn't. With Dawn he wouldn't have to act, she knew him. And that would help him to convince her to give him a chance? It could. Fine, it wouldn't.

She had probably countless of reason for never to even consider going out with him. Well duh, she had just called him creepy when he had tried to be nice. He didn't like this at all, this…feeling. Not to mention noticing that her cute little hobby wasn't as easy as he had thought, she was in a hell of a shape. He on the other hand hadn't jogged since…ever. Sure he went to the gym sometimes, but that wasn't as hard as this. He sighed and headed home, walking. First he needed a shower, then he would go and buy the most expensive walkman he could find. Maybe that would be enough to appease Dawn. Dear lord, he was pathetic.

He had never make this much effort for any girl. This was Dawn, she already belonged to him! Really? What had he thought exactly, that she would stay in his family's house for the rest of her life and live like a nun? No… Well, kind of. He had honestly never thought that she would someday move out, not to mention start dating. The thought made him tense; so far he had been too occupied to find out who that little punk was.

He went home, took a shower, changed his clothes and drove to the department store down town. He bought the walkman, a sketchpad and a box of Dawn's favorite chocolates. It was already late afternoon when he returned home and noticed that Dawn wasn't in her room. Where the hell was she? He wasn't pleased when he walked downstairs and saw Jo and Patrick in the living room, they were watching TV. The twins were napping and their mother was supposed to be taking care of them for a change.

"Have you seen Dawn?" Kai asked as carelessly as he could.

"She went to the movies," Jo replied.

"Hmm, by herself?"

"No, I think she said she was going with a friend."

A friend… Kai could certainly guess who this "friend" was. The thought made him to clench his fists, he was furious. Dawn was out on a date.

* * *

"I'm not sure about this," Dawn murmured. "I mean, I wasn't even invited…"

"I was," Colin cut in. "And that means my girl's invited too." He paused and looked at Dawn. "Look, babe, we can leave as soon as you want, I just promised Mark to drop by. In and out. Then we'll go to the restaurant. Okay?"

Dawn really didn't like Mark Rafferty, he was a loud jerk, but he was also Colin's friend. Mark's rich parents were out of town for the weekend so of course he was throwing a party. Dawn couldn't deny that she really wouldn't have wanted to go to this party, but maybe she could do this for Colin. He had been so sweet to her and everything. He had brought her roses and was going to take her to one of the most expensive restaurants in town.

"Have you told your friends that we're…dating?" she murmured.

"No, I thought you didn't want that."

"I didn't, I just… I'm not sure if they'll want me here."

Colin parked the car, turned to look at Dawn and took her hand.

"Babe, anyone who says anything mean to you will have to deal with me. But my friends won't say anything, I promise. I told them I'm on a date with someone who I'm really interested in."

"Interested in?"

He smiled.

"Definitely. You're gorgeous, babe, you know that, don't you?"

She really didn't know what to say, his words were making her uncomfortable. She hadn't even dressed for this kind of party; she was wearing a blue and white polka dot dress and a white sweater. Technically this was the first time ever when she was out for a date. Yes, her first date and what was she thinking about, Malachai. She was still more than mad at him for being an asshole. She would have to save for a while before she could buy herself a walkman, she have just had to use most of her savings for a new calculator and few other things for school. Uncle Joshua could have probably bought those things for her, but she tried not to ask him money unless she didn't have a choice. He already had to spend enough money on her.

"What's on your mind?" Colin asked. "You seem tense; did you have a rough day?"

"Not really," she muttered. "I just…lost my walkman this morning."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Tell you what, when we'll leave here, we'll go and buy you a new one…"

"No, no," she cut in quickly. "I mean… I don't have enough money yet, I need to save…"

"I have money, no worries. I'll buy it for you."

She shook her head.

"No, I'll buy it myself. But thank you for the offer."

She was definitely going to buy it with her own money so no one could take it from her. Not that she thought Colin would do that, he wasn't like Malachai.

"How about your foster parents?" Colin asked. "Aren't they supposed to look after you?"

"Yeah, but I'm not comfortable asking money from them unless I really, really need it."

Colin bit his bottom lip.

"Well that's just… admirable, babe. Many people could learn a lot from you. Do you want to go inside?"

Dawn could see from here that the house was full of people, the music was loud and most people were already more or less drunk. She really didn't want to go inside.

"We'll just drop by and leave?" she muttered.

Colin smiled.

"Yeah, I promise. It's going to be fun."


End file.
